Raging Fire, Whistling Wind
by runningwithhorses
Summary: The Phoenix King may be dead, but his followers certainly aren't. Especially not one particular one, who is out to avende him, his last command.


A hundred years ago, the Air Nomads became extinct. There was not one left on the planet. The Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom readied for war against the Fire Nation. Havoc and terror ensued. The Avatar was not there to save our world, and we suffered heavily for his actions. No one knew what had happened to him, or why he had disappeared, but everyone knew that they cycle had been broken: the Avatar was not reincarnated into the Water Tribe.

Many lives were lost over the course of a hundred years. The Fire Nation was bold in its attempts to subdue the other nations, and it was common knowledge that they had been the cause of the disappearance of the airbenders. But still, we wondered about the Avatar.

Then, there were rumours of the Avatar's return. Little whisperings exchanged by friends, a pair of lips to listening ears, spreading the word. I heard the whispers, though I was not supposed to, and so did the earthbenders and waterbenders, who renewed their attack, holding onto that small piece of knowledge, that small piece of hope.

Of course, I never knew any of this. I was only a small piece in the puzzle, a speck of dirt floating between floorboards, one word in a story that would last an eternity - but the one word that could change everything.

Maybe I should start at the beginning.

Welcome to my life.

Deep in the mountains around their air temples, where no one had dared go, the Air Nomads hid. After the disappearance of the Avatar, the Fire Nation sought to destroy them all in their search for the Avatar. The only hope for them was to hide, but they did this too late. Before they could go underground, the firebenders came, attacking the temples one at a time, determined to find the new avatar. The airbenders didn't anticipate them coming so soon, and they lost many brave fighters who will never be remembered now, now that everything is gone. But a good number made it to the safe hideaways, and the airbenders were not heard of again.

Not heard of, but they were found. The people of the Western Air Temple were tracked into the mountains, though no one knows how, by the Fire Nation. They were attacked again, and even more were lost, but only one was taken. A little child, barely a year old, but the Fire Lord knew things that others don't. This child was a precious gift to the airbenders from the spirits, but in his eyes, she was a weapon. The child was named Bo by the airbenders, and her name was the only thing that she was allowed to keep from her intended life.

Bo was brought before the Fire Lord, who was pleased with his men's success. They were given the life of luxury, as was the child, only of a different kind. She was brought up in the royal palace, and taught by the best firebenders in the country. She soon became indestructible, and was given whatever she wanted. As she grew older, she was considered by people to be part of the royal family, though she wasn't really, for the Fire Lord had other plans for her.

She became firm friends with the prince, who was her only link to the outside world. She was not allowed to go outside the palace walls, and she had never seen anything of the rest of the world. She would listen eagerly to his tales and stories of the world, his descriptions of the things she had never seen. She dreamed of what they would look like, until one day when the prince was banished, and she had no one else.

The dreams faded, and with time, she became harder, stronger, more oblivious to hurt and pain, until she was the very image that Ozai thought a firebender should be. Every ounce of the little bit of happiness she had created for herself was locked away, and she became the person he had dreamed of.

Still, she waited, for the order to hunt down and kill whoever was threatening the success of the Fire Nation. The Fire Lord was impressed by her now, and in his view, he had now ridded her of all of the traits of her airbender origins.

As a test, he sent her out on missions, to see how successful she was. Every job was done perfectly. He was pleased that such a deadly assassin was loyal to him and him only. Nothing could sway her from this path. Or so he thought.

What he didn't knw, was that a seed of doubt had already been planted in his weapon. The stories that Zuko had told her were part of that little vault of happiness. Every time she went out, Bo saw a little mor of the world, and a little more of the doubt grew. But he decided to send her out on the mission he had saved for all those years before doubt could take over and help her see through fresh eyes. And so, she complied.

He summoned her to his throne room one lovely, bright day shortly after she finished practising her bending. He was pleased that she performed better than any other bender he knew, and had no need of a trainer. He knew she was sturdy in her beliefs that she belonged to the nation that should be all powerful. And he felt that it was time to send her out on the most important job yet.

She kneeled before him, her long, black tresses almost touching the floor. Her sharp face was hard as she waited for her instructions. She was dressed in full armour and ready to leave. Not an inkling of the doubt showed in her graceful form. She was good at deception, good enough to fool the Fire Lord, even. He did not expect a thing.

"You know what to do," he said harshly, circling around her, before settling into his throne. "You know who you are after. Do not fail me. He must fall, with or without me."

Wordlessely, she nodded. She had not spoken since the day the prince had not come to see her.

"Do not fail me," he repeated. "He is the Avatar. You are an Avatar Child. There is no competition."

She nodded again. He nodded in satisfaction, pleased that the job would be completed, even if the Avatar managed to defeat him, which was not going to happen. It was good to have a back-up plan, though.

"Come along, then. It is time."

Bo watched as the great battle played out before her. The Avatar and the Fire Lord, or the Phoenix King, as he had insisted on being called. For years, she had protected the Fire Lord, his personal guard and assassin. But now he had given her a different job, nothing like anything she had ever been told to do before. She watched the Avatar, the one her master had been so worked up on throughout the last year, seeing he was but a mere child, younger than her even. Yet he had evaded every trap set for him, and had been the subject of many conversations that her master had had, rather like an obsession. She wondered what made him this valuable, more than her even, since he was paid more attention than her on many occasions.

All she knew was that he was the Avatar, he had caused the Fire Nation much grief, and she was ordered to capture and kill him once and for all. The sight of him caused hatred to bubble inside her, like a big pot that needed stirring. This boy she had seen only once, but he had disappeared so quickly, that she had wondered if she had been dreaming. Several times, she had been sent out to capture him, but not a trace of him could she find, resulting in her being beaten, or tortured, or locked in a bare room for many days with no food or water.

This formed the basis for the Fire Lord's master plan. She blamed the pain and suffering on this mere boy, therefore guaranteeing him that she would not stop until she had dealt with him, as her master had ordered her to.

As she watched, her master fell to the power of the child, who then took on an extrodinary feat; energy bending. She whimpered slightly as her master was taken down, but her mind was on her orders, the ast order her master would ever give her. Kill.

She followed the Avatar, watching him. She saw that he was good, or at least, he acted as if he was good. She knew it was just an act, after all, he was the reason she had been beaten and tortured all those times for her failture.

One day, as she crouched on a rooftop, she watched them in a house, all together, happy and content. Something she had forgotten stirred, but it was pushed back by the many walls and barriers that surrounded it, that surrounded all her memories of old. She watched as he kissed the one he loved bitterly, for she would never know love. And she hoped that her chance would come soon.

And once she was back in her home country, the country of fire, near the palace, where she had followed him, the hatred bubbled once more, stronger than ever. She was ready to make her presence known, after the months of following her target, stalking him.

She found it easy to get in the palace, sneaking past the guards as she had done many times before. She had not yet seen the new Fire Lord, and sshe had not been back n this city since she had left with her master of long ago.

Each step brought back more memories, of her time as an assassin, as a guardian. The Avatar walked through the palace casually, for he was not haunted by those gruesome memories that followed her everywhere. He entered the throneroom, and she followed, like a shadow. At first, she could not see the Fire Lord's face, as he embraced the Avatar, but when the stepped back and looked at each other as only old friends could, she caught sight of him.

Zuko, the prince, the storyteller, her friend from long ago, in another world. Memories broke free, ones of the times when she had been happy, when her laughtr had rung through the palace halls, and her shouts had been heard in the grounds, and when she had sang to the birds, her voice tinkling like a windchime.

Then had come the darker days, after he left, when depression had settled on her, and her voice had faded away to nothing, and finally, she had been molded into a perfect, silent, warrior.

She stepped out of the shadow that concealed her, leaving is warm embrace, and exposing herself. For the first time in months, Bo was found. Zuko gasped and cried out in alarm, the Avatar turned and raised his arms in a bending stance, deflecting the raging fire that was already burning towards him.

Her own fire was turned against her in that second, as they both worked to deflect the flames that burnt ferociously, fuelled by her anger. The Avatar turned it back on her, using her own attack to defend himself. They grew closer, closer, forcing her back against the wall. They grew taller, until they touched the roof, and she knew that they were out of her control. But right when they were about to engulf her, they stopped. Guards stepped through the flames, chaining her and dragging her away. As they did, she caught sight of the Avatar, and glared at him in hate. He held her gaze for a moment, as if he might let her free, but at a word from the Fire Lord, he turned away.

Then, she was taken away, without struggle, because she knew she had failed.


End file.
